Recent Comments

"That's not how sports works. Champions aren't crowned like that. They're crowned by how you perform under a set of extreme pressure circumstances. Not by how you beat a bunch of bad teams in the regular season (which is basically what we have now). No sport - other than college football - creates a champion like that."

I think the current system does just that, by making every game a performance under a set of extreme pressure circumstances. You lose just once, and you're out unless the gods conspire to let you back in.

As for the first point, yes, I find it mildly moronic that the NFL crowns teams like Green Bay as champions. Three of the last four Super Bowl winners were 10-6 and couldn't even win their divisions (of course, the division argument could be used this year, too, but at least that team hasn't lost nearly 40% of its games). Did anyone really think last year's Packers team was the best football team on the planet? How about the 2007 Giants? They are your champs, they sit atop the pile of skulls, but they are also completely undeserving of being named champions on the entire body of evidence.

Losing to ISU knocked OSU completely out of the race, which I think is AAB's point. If we turn the two-team race now into a six-team race (which will eventually become 8, then 12, then 16, eventually 68, because every playoff system ever invented has done just that), we're arguing the "bubble" and Okie State's loss really doesn't have that much effect. And if the loss doesn't have that much effect, that game is less fun to watch.

A playoff will eventually turn college football into college basketball, and I'm pretty sure there's nobody who would say that the college basketball regular season is anywhere near as important as the college football regular season is. Brian's playoff system is as good as there is, but it still doesn't change that basic math. If your goal is entertainment (like the hoops tournament) I'm not sure you get there by diminshing the importance of the regular season. If your goal is to crown a deserving champion, I'm not sure you get there by allowing six teams the opportunity; this year, the mere hypothetical presence of five teams playing LSU would be five too many.

We had ALCS/NLCS/WS, and it was great, because every series had sufficient games to determine which team is actually superior and maintain drama. And then we got playoff creep. First it was wild cards and five-game series where having 2 good pitchers trumps actually having the best team. Now they're adding another wild card and a play-in game, as if the 162 games before it weren't enough. It's ridiculous.

(1) You're absolutely right on the offense, both as it currently stands and on how it would disintegrate under Harbaugh or basically anyone else. Michigan is far better off for the next 3 years on offense by keeping Rodriguez in place.

(2) This situation, with so much youth and so little production on one side of the ball, is like a half-Zook circa 2009. Change the defensive coordinator (and forget how Rodriguez has shown about as much interest in defense as Coach Taylor on FNL), splash out some money on a staff that knows the sort of bland 4-3 that's so effective in the conference (because defense is reactive; I'm not a traditionalist on offense, despite my team's leanings, but when you play half your games against pro-style, run-between-the-tackles types, a new-wavey defensive scheme built to combat speed more than power isn't going to be effective regardless of its new-waveness), and profit.

(3) Absolutely none of this is written in the hopes that you'll keep your own Bill Callahan for longer than you should. Nope, none at all.

"[DocSat Resume Ranking] is supposed to bat away the preconceived notions that feature heavily in things like the coaches poll (hello, preseason ranking of Michigan) and result in a crystal-pure poll, but it just removes the assumptions to another level. Okay, Kentucky beat Louisville. Who says Louisville isn’t going 3-9? Or Pitt or—dammit—Michigan for that matter?"

Let's forget for a moment that the prediction was Nostradamus-like and get to the real point: Brian knows deep down that we're right. He acknowledged as much, not only last season but in the poll itself. The BHGPoll is a stunt in the same way that Lenin was a prankster. THE REVOLUTION IS HERE. FOLLOW ME TO FREEDOM.

(1) Hampton had a sprained ACL in the spring, so we're all crossing our fingers it's just a reaggravation of that injury. Not that it wouldn't hamper him early on (or raise the red flag on a recurring problem), but it's the best possible scenario.

(2) Awesome monicker aside, PAKIBOMB will not start at tailback. You guys left out redshirt freshman Jeff Brinson, a consensus 3-star tailback who was a Rivals "Top 5 sleeper recruit" last year (whatever that means) and received late offers from Florida and FSU. There were short-lived rumors that Brinson was actually pushing Hampton for the starting spot in spring (what with Hampton injured). He's bigger than Hampton, and by all accounts might be a better fit for this line. There is also the possibility it goes to Adam Robinson or Jayme Murphy, both of whom received some spring buzz after converting from safety (and one of which, unfortunately, is named Jayme).

(3) Wegher was never going to redshirt. He was a kick returner, at least, this season, so there's no loss in giving him the two spot. There have been favorable comparisons to Tim Dwight, for whatever that might mean. However, Iowa places significant emphasis on a back's ability to pass protect (there's a reason why Greene didn't catch too many passes last year), so he could be O.J. Simpson and would still have to prove he could block the blitzing linebacker before he saw any significant time.

(4) I would say it's no big deal because I could run for 5 ypc behind that line, but they just announced LG/C Julian Vandervelde had surgery last week and will probably not be ready for the first few games. That leaves a massive hole at center, which could be filled by Rafael Eubanks (who was honorable mention all-conference and a Remington watch list candidate 2 years ago, but has apparently regressed into a pile of goo) or James "Body Shot" Ferentz in that spot. That might actually be worse news than Hampton, to be honest.

There. Now you can all go back to working with t-squares and building bridges and shit.

You blindly follow Rodriguez and his vile henchman Barwis, but they are mere mortals. They will eventually fail you, because they will eventually die (Barwis, like Trotsky before him, seems ripe for an icepick to the back). The only thing that will not fail you is yourself, Mighiganders! Cast your blind faith in these false Gods aside and bow before the one true God, the almighty Ruble! You can help yourself, Michigan Man, and you will help yourself, and you will start here today by joining the league of sophisticated nations and embracing capitalism as the one true way!